Tomorrow afternoon, NASA’s Perseverance rover will hopefully come to rest beneath a butterscotch sky on Mars. I’ll watch the landing unfold on a livestream through Zoom, while the world outside is encased in ice, the trees like pieces of crystal. An ice storm passed through a week ago and the temperature shows no inclination to rise. The deep freeze of February feels like a fitting backdrop for this particular rover’s arrival on Mars.
The goal of NASA’s mission is to uncover a once-animate world. Perseverance will collect samples of Mars for eventual return to Earth, rocks that might hold the fingerprints of relic microbial life. For at least the next 687 days, the rover will explore Jezero crater, the site of an ancient river delta, in search of molecular fossils.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.